The Quatros should be here on Wednesday. In the meantime, I've decided to seriously reconsider my system cables. Since no one seems to have done a shootout between Kubala-Sosna Emotion, Pranawire Nataraja, and Synergistic Research Designers' Reference, I've decided to do it myself. I will have all three interconnects here within the next week. I plan on running them from my CD player to my preamp and seeing which I like best. Depending on the results, I may recable the rest of my system with the cable that I like the best.

I am also planning on doing a cable shootout between Synergistic Research Reference Master Coupler X2, Pranawire Realization Kensho, and VH Audio Airsine.

kmiller5 April 17, 2006 01:30

I would love to....if I had them yet. Haha. They are on the way from CA. They should be here within a week. I am pretty excited. They came with a single ended crossover, but I am switching to a balanced one so that I can take fully advantage of the fully balanced circuitry in the Ayre K-5Xe and V-5Xe. I will post pics when they get here.

kmiller5 April 12, 2006 02:44

Can you give us a pic showing the speakers?

themadmilkman April 12, 2006 01:50

The Quatros are relatively new speakers from Vandersteen. They were designed to take the place of the older 5s. However, they have a much smaller profile. People I've talked to say that the Quatros are about 85-90% of what the 5As will do. Each speaker has a built in 300 watt sub and comes with a crossover that makes the bass fully adjustable to the room. This makes placement much easier.

kmiller5 April 11, 2006 13:02

Are the Quatros new speaker system from Vandy? I hadn't heard of them before. Let me know if you ever move out of the Synergistic line. Maybe I'd buy some of your wire.
I think you'll like your new system much better. I keep a second system just for HT upstairs. Two channel is where resolution pays off.

sgr April 10, 2006 22:19

System edited: Well, I have totally changed around my system and have gone from home theater to a purely 2 channel setup. I've upgraded my Vandersteen 2Ce Signature Speakers to Vandersteen Quatros, replaced my Arcam AV8 pre/pro with an Ayre K-5Xe dedicated 2 channel preamp, and am going to be running the system balanced instead of single ended. At some point, I would like to build the HT setup back, but at this point, I would rather have great 2 channel music. Hopefully, my changes are a step in the right direction. I've also added a Synergistic Research quattro power supply which seems to have added more air and smoothness to the music (even when running the HT setup) when run off a Synergistic Research master power coupler X2 active. Additionally, I purchased a Running Springs Audio Haley power conditioner. As my speakers have not arrived yet, I have yet to see what difference, if any, this will make. Despite comments I have read on this board about it improving the picture quality of the television, it did no such thing to mine. My biggest dilemma right now is whether to stick with the Synergistic Research and move up the line or switch to something else like Nordost Valhalla or Pranawire. I have talked to Joe Cohen at Pranawire and am looking into demoing some of his Deva interconnects and speaker wire. Maybe someone can tell me (after hearing them both) if this might be better than the Synergistic Research line.

kmiller5 April 09, 2006 05:53

so, saw that your in a transition period with you system, hence all your stuff is for sale or sold ;) What are your plans for the future?!

-Marc

mre2007 April 03, 2006 00:25

Notice how Bcos doesn't post his system? It's because he changes his equipment about every 3 weeks trying to catch up to the sound mine has. Haha. Just kidding. Bcos is my old college roomie and his 2 channel system is pretty awesome. If he ever posts it, check it out.

kmiller5 April 01, 2006 00:08

get a new tv.

bcos17 March 31, 2006 17:34

The upgrade from the 2CE's to the Quattro will be bigger and the speakers are the more important component to build your system around than the preamp in my opinion. I used to own the Vandy 2Ci, then went to the 3A with 2 Vandy subs, listened to the Quattro and ended up buying the 5A's. The jump from the 3A with 2 subs to the 5A's has to be heard to be fully appreciated and I would guess that the jump from the 2CE to the Quattro's would be very similiar in % improvement. So, if you have to choose, get the Quattro's.

babybear March 29, 2006 01:10

I know that I need to get a dedicated preamp and upgrade my speakers to realize the true potential of my other equipment. I have considered an Ayre and BAT to compliment my Ayre V-5Xe. On the other hand, the Vandersteen Quatros are great, but at roughly $5500 used, that's a big chunk of cash for me. Any thoughts on which will make a bigger difference - preamp or speakers?

kmiller5 March 29, 2006 00:56

Given that you now have a good CD player with the Modwright, and that you have invested dollars in good cabling and amplification, I would suggest that while the upgrade to the Vandy Quattro will be a signficant improvement compared to the 2Ce, that you won't realize the full potential of your system until you move to a good quality dedicated preamp. I also have the Anthem D1 processor, and while its a very good HT processor and not a bad analog preamp, it can't compare to a good dedicated 2 channel preamp. I would suggest a good tube based preamp with a HT bypass so that you can run the front left/right outputs of your ANthem into the preamp when you use your HT. There are many to choose from, but the improvement in doing this will be very, very significant. I would do this before I made anymore cable changes.

babybear March 28, 2006 14:04

System edited: I sold my Arcam AV8 pre/pro and bought an Anthem Statement D-1. I will post more comment when the D-1 gets here. My main reason for selling is so I can run an XLR connection to my Ayre amp which sounds sigificantly better balanced. A Synergistic Quattro power supply has been added and am using a Synergistic Master Coupler X2 Active cable on it. The result has been a lowering of the noise floor, reduction of harshness, and more air. New speaker considerations are also taking place. I and am looking seriously at upgrading to some Vandersteen Quatros. Finally, I am also looking into upgrading my cables between my CD player and preamp/processor. Considerations include Synergistic, Nordost Valhalla, and Pranawire Deva.

kmiller5 March 24, 2006 03:13

I am constantly reconsidering my system and am currently thinking about going to a totally 2 channel system which would include upgraded speakers and a dedicated preamp with better interconnects and wire. I am in the process of auditioning new cables now and am considering Pure Note, Nordost, Jena Labs, Oritek, Cerious, VH Audio, and Pranawire.

kmiller5 March 06, 2006 11:25

Well, I can sum up the difference in a single word...HUGE. This upgrade has made the biggest change in my system in quite some time. Everything is more clear, the background is more black, the sound is more dynamic, the harsh treble is gone, and bass is more full and tight. I am very happy with my purchase. Even the DVD playback is better than it was on the Arcam DV 88, but this improvement is much more subtle.

kmiller5 February 18, 2006 06:21

I just bought a Modwright Platinum Truth Modded Player (sony 999es) and will replace my Arcam DV 88. I am hoping for a large improvement, but will post more after I've gotten a chance to listen

kmiller5 February 15, 2006 23:03

kmiller5, thank you very much for the response. I am actually headed to a local dealer to try out the ayre k-5xe today. Another preamp that i heard good things about is the plinius m8.

i chose the halo amp because to me it added some warmth to my system that was missing with my previous amp. it has a nice, full sound that compliments the detail of the b&W speakers. i am hoping ot create some synergy between warm and detailed with the b&w, halo, ayre/plinius/??.

i have considered other speakers like the vienna acoustics which are VERY nice and sweet sounding. i did find them to be a little too laid back though. of course there are plenty of other great sounding speakers out...too many to audition them all. i plan to do a full round of speaker auditoning before i make a final decision though to this point i have heard another speaker that is as accurate and clean sounding as the b&w.

tboooe February 09, 2006 16:17

Before dropping a lot of cash, I would try to demo the Ayre K-5Xe. See if you can borrow one from a local dealer. I know the Halo has balanced connections, but I do not know if it is a fully balanaced design. My experience with Ayre has shown that the balanced connections are far superior in terms of sound quality. Everything I've read about how Ayre designs their units (fully balanced) would tend to support my claim. The noise floor is significantly lowered using the balanced connections. One of my main complaints about my current pre/pro is a lack of said connections. I have seriously considered switching to another unit like the Anthem Statement D-1, but to get truly get two channel music I think most people would agree that you need to get a dedicated 2 channel preamp, not a preamp/processor. Ayre, in my opinion, is at the top of the chart in the 2 channel preamp category.

I am just curious...is there any particular reason you decided to go with the Halo amp and B&W speakers? You said that you are looking for a, "great holographic presentation of the music. Imaging and instrument separation is important to me. I listen to mainly female vocalists. I want to try and recreate the "live" experience." There are a lot of great speakers in the price category of the B&W 802D. I would go out and listen to quite a few others before making the upgrade. If you can, get to a CES or HES show so you can hear a lot of the speakers at one time. I think you might find that there are other speakers more to your liking for the type of music you listen to. Just a guess. Good luck

kmiller5 February 09, 2006 03:49

kmiller5:

thank you for the response. Yes, I was referrring to the preamp. I currently have B&W 804S speakers, Parasound Halo A21 amp, a Cary 303/300 cdp, and a SONOS digital music system. My cables are Acoustic Zen. I do not plan on upgrading my amp until I upgrade my speakers in the next few years. I am probably going to get the B&W 802D.

I am looking for a preamp that is slightly on the warm side of neutral with a great holographic presentation of the music. Imaging and instrument separation is important to me. I listen to mainly female vocalists. I want to try and recreate the "live" experience. Maybe I am asking too much.

tboooe February 08, 2006 17:20

Tboooe. I think you are referring to the K-5Xe preamp. The V series is for the amps I believe. It would also help if I knew what your other components were. I can tell you this though. I used to have the Ayre V-3 with the K-3X preamp and it was fantastic. It was very smooth with lots of air, solid bass, and a wide soundstage. I ended up selling the preamp because I listed to more home theater at the time. In retrospect, that may have been a mistake. The K-5Xe is undoubtedly better than the K-3X so I don't think you'll be disappointed - especially if you pair it with an Ayre amp.

kmiller5 February 08, 2006 08:12

Does anyone have any thoughts as to what I should upgrade next? Since I am in school and about to move I'd like to hold off on the room treatments and I don't have the cash to upgrade to the Vandersteen Quatros. Consequently, I was thinking about upgrading the power conditioning. In particular I've been considering Shunyata and Running Springs. Has anyone done any direct comparisons between these two?

kmiller5 February 08, 2006 08:05

System edited: I recently updated the power cords to my amp and cd player. I am now using a Synergistic Research Reference Master coupler X2 on the Arcam DV88 and a Master Coupler X2 on the amp. Both cleaned up the sound and eliminated some harshness on the top end. I also got a new interconnect for the HGS 12 sub. It is now a Synergistic Phase I X2 cable. The tightness and depth of the bass were significantly improved over the old Tributaries interconnect. At this point I am looking at upgrading the speakers, power conditioning, and room treatments. I recently did a little test where I hung up a thick comforter on the back wall. Sound stage and clarity were drastically improved. The result was much better than upgrading the powercords. This leads me to believe that I am losing a lot of quality due to poor room acoustics.

kmiller5 February 04, 2006 05:15

Most excellent to meet other Vandersteen and Thiel owners. I too have 2Ce Sigs and they are among the best I've heard, price no object. For the money there is no better value in speakers.

stevecham February 02, 2006 04:56

kmiller5:
i am considering the ayre v-5xe preamp. can you tell me a little about the way it sounds? i am looking for a fuller, warmer, more romantic sound than i am curently getting.
thank you.

tboooe February 01, 2006 21:30

Well, I added in my new pieces (Synergistic Research Resolution Reference X2 speaker wire, Ayre V-5Xe, and Arcam AV8) and the improvement was pretty drastic over my old pieces. (alpha core MI2 speaker wire, Ayre V-3, and Krell Showcase Pre/Pro). The system now has much cleaner sound. Also noticably improved is the air and overall dynamic nature of the music. Bass is much cleaner/tighter. The overall realism of the sound took a big step up. I also recently purchased a Synergistic Research Reference Master Coupler AC X2 for my CD player and a Synergistic Research Master Coupler AC X2 for my amp. They should be here within a week or so. I am hoping that they will make a big improvement over the SignalCable and stock amp cord that I am currently using on those units.

kmiller5 January 18, 2006 23:04